For anyone interested in electronic music, something featuring Alan Vega is always interesting. ‘Protocol’ is best described as ‘music concrete.’ There is a complete absence of melody or conventional arrangement. Instead, loops of sound, ambient noise, and field recordings drift into one another and are layered to create an audio collage. Over 12 tracks there are spoken word/half sung contributions from a number of artists including Lydia Lunch and the aforementioned Vega. I highly recommend this record to any aspiring electro producers. There may be an absence of rhythm and it may be too experimental for your usual taste. But there are some fantastic compositional lessons in here which could be appropriated to enliven a more traditional dance track.